Guess I'll start reading those label warnings!!

I normally think of myself as a cautious person, I normally read expiry dates on foods and labels on pill bottles. Most times I actually stick to them. But who ever thought Tums could nearly kill you!! Not me.

I started feeling weird on the 15th of November, dizzy and lightheaded, nauseous and tired. Small physical effort was tiring and left me breathless and I noticed my heartbeat, which normally rests at 65-76 beats per minute was going up in the 120-130 range while at rest and any kind of physical activity would make it go even higher. I put this run-down feeling to the fact I was busy with holiday activities; baking, decorating, lifting boxes up and down stairs, but after a week of feeling like this, I started to slow down and take it easy. I had chest pain, and spasms and generally felt crappy. I had just recovered from a bad bout of bronchitis so I thought maybe it was coming back. This feeling appeared to go away for a few days when I slowed down. But a few days later, I started having extreme thirst, a complete lack of appetite (definitely not like me) and when I did eat anything more than toast, it would come back up. I figured I would give it a few more days and if it didn't go away, would head to the clinic. But it got worse instead of better, and by the afternoon of the 25th of November, I could not even get out of bed with the weakness, nausea, and rapid heartbeat. I called the Ontario telehealth line who advised me to go the ER right away. They said that they would fax my info to the hospital and I would be seen immediately. My husband brought me to the hospital and 15 minutes later, I was in the triage unit. As I have a family history of heart disease (both my father, my aunt and my sister died at 60 or earlier with heart attacks) the immediate thought was heart trouble. I was given an ECG and at the same time, blood was being drawn and I was hooked up to an IV with fluids. After three hours, I had my diagnosis: hypercalcemia, (an excess of calcium in the bloodstream). I was severely de-hydrated and my kidneys could not filter this excess and were shutting down. 

The immediate solution was to flush my system as soon as possible and hope the levels of calcium came down enough to give my kidneys a chance. If the levels did not come down, alternate treatment would be employed, possibly dialysis. I was told I would not be going home that night. The ER doctor told me if I had not come in, it would not have been long before my kidneys would have shut down completely, resulting in renal failure and possible death (I am not sure if he meant hours or days but it was enough to send my blood pressure skyrocketing). Since I have never had any sort of a medical crisis or any major surgery, this was scary stuff. I was told I would stay in the triage until a bed was available, probably not until the next day. The rest of that night was spent peeing continuously ( as they gave me diuretics) which had to be collected, measured and analyized, and getting vial after vial of blood work done, as part two of this mystery was why this happened. 

The normal causes of this condition are malfunction of the parathyroid gland, certain types of cancers or an overdose of calcium over a long period of time. They ruled out the parathyroid malfunction and because I had remembered that I had been told about six years ago that my calcium levels were elevated, they figured it was not cancer, so that left them with the calcium intake. I had been diagnosed 5 years ago with osteopenia, or low bone density and was told to take calcium supplements to build up density or be susceptible to brittle bones. Most people can tolerate up to 2000 mg of calcium on a daily basis without problems (the recommended dose is 1200 mg per day).  Of course I did not realize this and I was taking 2 tablets of 1200 mg daily but I was also ingesting antacids with the thought that the more calcium, the better. I was taking 3-5 ultra strength antacid tablets at 1000 mg each. So everyday I was taking 5400-7400 mg of calcium and had been doing so for the past 5 years or so. My body finally could not tolerate this any longer,  my kidneys could not filter out the excess any more and started to shut down. 

Luckily for me, this story had a good ending. My levels started to go down the next morning and continued to do so each day until they returned to normal. After 3 days in hospital, I was released. They have found no cancer (however tests are still on-going just to be sure), my meds have been adjusted, my parathyroid and thyroid are now on the correct dosages and I have been advised to not take any calcium supplements or antacids like Tums. I learned an important lesson about paying attention to recommended dosages, warning labels and keeping a close watch on your health. Every drug, prescription or over the counter and supplements of any kind all can interact to create health problems. We all need to be vigilant and honest with our doctors and pharmacists and pay attention to their advice and warnings.

I am feeling like myself again, and the best news is that will all that calcium intake, I now have the bones of a young adult!!

Giving Thanks

For the first time in about four years, we decided to join my daughter April and grandson Jack on a trip to Sturgeon Falls, where my sister lives. We used to make this an annual affair, however, since we have stopped camping in that area, we do not get up to Sturgoen very often. So we packed up our bags, shipped the dog off to a sitter to enjoy three days of freedom, family, and fall weather.

My sister lives near a place called Leisure Farms, where, along with berry picking, they do pumpkins in the fall. For a mere seven dollars, you can enjoy a day out in the country with many activities.

We were joined by my nephew and two great nieces, another treat for me as I don't get to see them often. We started off with a wagon ride into the bush where fire pits were set up to cook hot dogs, marshmallows or whatever else you wished. My sister chose to bring homemade raisin bread and jams and we feasted on those. We were lucky to have a glorious fall day with sunshine and not too cold out. After our feast, we went to an area where the kids could jump around on hay bales, or for two bucks a pop, you could shoot pumpkins out of cannon. We went back on the wagon to the play area where there was pumpkin decorating for the kids, with hot chocolate and cookies, and another play area with bouncy rides and swings. I got to enjoy the time with the girls and Jackson, watching them play filled me with great joy. Afterwards, we got to pick out our Halloween pumpkins then head for Maggie's for a nice dinner. I got time to spend with my nephews, age 17 and 18, great boys on the brink of manhood.

It was a wonderful family time, and I was thankful to be there. After all, that's what giving thanks is all about.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggidy Jig

Well, it's that time of year again when the buds of Spring become the falling leaves of Autumn. I have been blessed to be able to have had the time and resources to see both seasons and all the time in between. This was my first camping season fully retired, when I could camp to my hearts content.

We started in May with our maiden voyage to Charleston Lake, where we got to see spring in its full splendour, from the forest blanketed with trilliums to the stirring call of the arriving orioles, the flowers and trees awakening from their winter slumber. Spring mating calls filled the air both during the day and with the dusk, the call of the bullfrogs, whippoorwills and owls. The raccoons were busy establishing their territories, and Finn, my dog and I had one nasty run in with one when Finn decided to corner one in a swamp. It ended with a big stick and a lot of mud and both of us ending up in the campground shower. We spent a fabulous month there and I had my first swim of the season on May 27th, rather late as we experienced a long cold winter and a cool spring.

We next decided to spent the summer months at our favorite place, Grundy Lake, and although the summer did not produce the best weather, I was still able to enjoy lots of swimming, canoeing and kayaking. I also got to try out a new sport, standup paddle boarding and found I enjoyed it very much.

We had the pleasure of a weeks visit by my daughter April and grandson Jack, filled with fun and excitement. Jack brings out the child in me. We fished together and jumped off the rocks on the island, kayaked and swam, got to soap stone sculpture and along with my sister, our own version of Art in the Park. The time flew by too quickly till they we're gone and we got back to our normal days and nights, enjoying time with the rest of our Grundy Gang. I got to participate in some of the Park's activities like the Amazing Race, which I completed and won prizes for. But as the summer flies by, we all start to pack up and go, to our different corners of the province. I enjoy the constant interaction and look forward to seeing our old friends each year. Grundy is our special place for doing the summer activities I enjoy the most and the beauty of Northern Ontario never fails to amaze me.

We finished up our season as we began, at Charleston Lake, to our favorite spot on the water. The summer being almost over brings a different type of life to the water, namely tons of ducks and geese, amusing us with their noises and antics. The hummingbirds came for their last drinks before the journey south, and most of the songbirds long gone. I got my last swim in, on September 8th, before the days started turning cool and the rains and wind chased us home on September 16th.

All in all a great season, 93 days of camping pleasure in our beautiful rolling apartment, my second home. Can't wait to do it all again next year!!!

Back to Where it Started

We now have returned to our favorite spot at  Charleston Lake Provincial Park near Gananoque, Ontario. This is our favorite site at this park, right on the water, our little slice of Heaven. This is the same spot we started camping on May 9th. We got here a week ago.

I chose this spot because it seems when you are camped near water, you are camped near life, most animals need water to survive, they build their homes and nests here. In spring this spot is filled with the newly arrived migrants, orioles, cardinals, yellow warblers, all singing their little hearts out. The night air is filled with sounds of bullfrogs and whippoorwills, owls and loons. At this time, now that mating is done, the bullfrogs are quiet, the sounds of the loons and birds much less intense, but still the odd hoot of an owl can be heard and the blue jays and woodpeckers are much more active. In the spring, we had many raccoons here, I have yet to see one this time and we have been here for a week. The hummingbirds, which are so busy in the spring, have mostly departed, now only the odd one trying to drink it's fill comes to the feeder.

I also chose this spot because we can launch our canoe and kayaks right from the site, very handy for a quick paddle. We have been out on the water once this week, and have been lucky enough to swim for 4 out the 7 days, the water is still beautiful, cool and clear. I like to try and see how late in the season I can still be swimming outdoors, the latest is the 25th of September, some years back, and have already broken my record of September 2nd for last year as I swam yesterday on the 8th. So far we have been entertained by the birds, the ducks and geese are constantly playing and fighting right at the little bay where our site is, tons of woodpeckers, the big Pilated ones, we have had grouse and jays, chickadees and nuthatches and hummers. I am truly enjoying my quiet mornings and evenings, living the life I envisioned retirement would be. Although there are not a lot of campers up, there are more than I expected, with the nicer weather this year.

We hope to stay up here for another 10 days, then go home for a bit and see what the weather is like and if feasible, head out for one last trip. It is sure nice to have that choice.

For now, I am enjoying being back to where it started, my personal slice of Heaven!

The Launch to Mexico

One of the most enjoyable and fascinating things to do at Presqu'ile is to participate in the annual Labour Day launch of the Monarch butterfly. It has been held here for many years, but I have not done so for about four years, so I figured it was high time I did it again. 

The same man runs the program, Mr. Don Davis, an expert in Monarch migration, and he was here again with his envelopes of cooled butterflies taken from the fields of Presqu'ile Park and areas around it. This year he proudly displayed his certificate from the Guinness Book of records for a butterfly that holds the record for the longest flight of a butterfly ever, tracked from its launch at Presqu'ile to the state of Texas, an almost 5400 km journey. The Monarch's aim is to get to a small obscure town in Mexico where they over-winter, mate and die.

My objective was to get the monarch on it's way to Mexico. I waited in line with all the kiddies to get my tagged butterfly, the tag number being recorded in a log by Don. If someone happens to see a tagged Monarch anywhere, the can go onto a specific website and report the location of where they spotted it. It is fascinating to see all the different places in the US where they have been spotted, an amazing feat of endurance and willpower as these butterflies follow an unexplained path to complete this journey and begin the cycle of life anew.

I have been in awe of these beautiful butterflies most of my life. I have always thought that when I saw a Monarch, it was the spirit of my father, Richard James Sullivan, who died in 1966 at age 41. So when I heard about this program to launch the butterflies, I was anxious to participate. When you are in lineup to get your butterfly, you do not know whether or not you will get a male or female. The only way you can tell is by a small dot in the rear right hand side of the wings, only the males have it. When Don handed me the butterfly, I could see the dots on the wing and knew right away I would christen him Richard, after my dad. As the butterfly is in a state of shock from the cooler, you have to throw it up in the air in order to get it to fly away. 

So with a kiss and a wish, I sent Richard off to the sky, in the hopes he will make his incredible journey successfully. A truly spiritual and joyful experience.

Almost an Island

 Our next camping adventure has taken us to Presqu'ile Provincial Park. For those of you who do not understand French, Presqu'ile is literally translated to: almost an island.Because there is land on three sides of Presqu'ile it is more of a peninsula, surrounded by the town of Brighton, Ontario on one side and Lake Ontario on the other, it ends in a point which is called Lighthouse Lane as there lies the oldest operating lighthouse in Ontario. 

To say this park is beautiful is an understatement. When you look out onto Lake Ontario, with the vast expanse of water, it feels like you have been dropped into Paradise. Bike paths and walking paths line the water from the lighthouse to Owen Point, the home of many species of shorebirds, swans, gulls, commerants and geese which you can hear crying and calling from a far distance, probably a distance of 20 km, end to end. 

Although we do not come here often, I always try to make it up here for Labour Day weekend, which is entitled Monarchs and Migrants. Every Labour thousands of butterflies gather at Lighthouse Point in order to catch the winds that will aid them in their journey to Mexico for the winter. On Saturday and Sunday, campers have a chance to tag a monarch and personally send it off on its journey. The sight of  hundreds of monarch butterflies flying around you is an almost spiritual thing. I am always filled with such joy to see them, flying around. They also set up nets to capture and band the migrating songbirds to track their journies to the south. If you are lucky, they will let you hold the little birds as they tag them and release them back to the wild. So awesome.

We arrived here Wednesday and have already seen many monarchs flying around, feeding on flowers for the nectar to give them energy to fly south. Most go to a place in Mexico where they will overwinter and return to the north where they mate and die, producing the next generation of Monarchs. Natures circle of life. There are some songbirds left, but are hard to spot. In general we do not see much wildlife here, but last night, around eleven o'clock we had a skunk come into our site and go into the fire pit, where the previous tenants had left unburnt food. Luckily Finnegan, my dog did not see it or smell it, he was inside asleep.It stayed away from us, and we stayed away from it, when he was finished he left and went into the bush.

Today dawned clear and I was able to have a long bike ride along the water to Owen Point and beyond to the Park store. I have already been on two walks and will be doing many more before the day ends. I have waded in the water, and hopefully have some swims, the water is cool but not unswimmable.

Stay tuned for all my adventures here!!

A 'Fair' Tradition

Almost every year, (with the odd exception) since I was a child in the sixties, I would attend our city's annual fair. It's been named many things over the years, and changed in many ways, but to me it will always be the Ottawa 'Ex'. It's a place of sights and smells you don't ever forget: onions and pogos, Tiny Tom donuts and French fries from the chip wagons, and fresh squeezed lemonade. The Ex normally ran every mid August for 10 days. As kids, we would wait all summer in anticipation for this event with a bittersweet knowledge that the start of school wasn't long after the Ex finished.

 Back in the sixties, it was more of an agricultural exposition, lots of horse shows and livestock, (who can forget the cattle castle) to buildings full of samples of baking and sewing and quilts, which we would have to endure before we could hit the midway. I hated the buildings and still do to this day. 

How I loved the Ex!! I would be excited for weeks before.   

Mom and my Aunt Lois would take us along with my cousins, one of who was my age. As we got a little older Denise and I would be allowed to spend time by ourselves on the midway. We would ride the double Ferris wheel, Wild Mouse, Roundup, Scrambler, and the Tilt-a-whirl, then join them for supper. You would fight your way through the Pure Food Building to get a seat and to eat the greasiest, most delicious food on earth.  My favorite part was playing the games to win stuffed animals. How I loved the stuffies (and still do!!). Every year it was a quest to win one bigger than the year before, and you only hoped you didn't win the big one too early in the day and have to carry it on all the rides. We would stay till it was dark, then on the way out we would be allowed to get a candy apple or floss to take home. We would go home sore and tired, but happy. It was the dirtiest, smelliest, wasp infested place I had ever been in but we couldn't wait till next year to do it all again. 

As a teenager, I went with friends, scouring the midway looking for boys or if you were lucky, you had a boyfriend to take you and cuddle up to on rides and win all the cool stuffed animals. 

The tradition continued once I had my own child, and she delighted in it too. Mike and I would take April and drop a small fortune on the midway and games!! As my daughter April grew older, Mike stopped coming and he was replaced by my younger sister, Maggie, now with her two small boys Alex and Andrew and my mother, would traipse around till we were lame. As the years went by, Mom grew too old to go, so it was me, April and Maggie and her boys to carry on the tradition. When April had her son Jackson he joined us also. Four generations of Ex lovers. How awesome! 

The city closed down the Ex at Landsdowne Park about four years ago, much to our sorrow. 

Someone came up with the Midway Magic, a much smaller fair, at another location in Ottawa and we alI had to be there. It was as much fun as far as I was concerned.The Magic was moved 3 years ago to yet another location, at Rideau Carleton raceway. One year we had a big group, my brother and his wife and grand kids, myself, Maggie and Andrew, and April and Jack. Last year, we did not attend but instead, Mike and I along with April and Jack, went to the Carp fair, but I did not find this as exciting. 

So this year when a new incarnation, called the Capital Fair came to Rideau Carleton raceway we were determined to go. My husband Mike, my daughter April and new beau Dave along with Jack, made the trek to the fair. I will admit, I was as excited as ever. Although smaller than the Ex, the fair had all the elements, the greasy food, the sights, the smells, the midway and the games. Jack was excited to find out he was now tall enough to ride the big kids rides and had Grandpa Mike on the fireball, a ride which goes upside down and suspends you in mid air. I figured that might be the end for Grandpa Mike or that Jack would lose his cookies, but they both emerged intact and smiling after it was over. Jack got me to go on the Musik, a ride that spins around at great speeds both forward and backward and the centrifical force pushes the person on the right (Jack) into the person on the left (me) and squishes them. This is the fun part of the ride. Jack laughed hysterically, I had a ball. Jack and his Mom and Dave did the bumper cars, April nearly getting whiplash. 

We ate the usual greasy foods, had our Tiny Tom donuts, played Crown and Anchor, the horserace game and the usual: water race and ball throwing and of course, the birthday game, which April won a giant stuffed Moose on her very first try buy putting the marker on Daves birthday month of December. 

We left full of stomach and sore of feet,(Mike dragged me through some buildings) and I felt like I had been back again to my beloved "Ex". 

Some traditions are worth continuing, no matter how old you may be.

A Trip Back In Time

On Wednesday, August 6, my daughter April, grandson Jack, husband Mike and I decided to take a trip to Upper Canada Village, an attraction near Morrisburg, Ontario which depicts the manner in which people lived in the late 1800's. I have been to UCV several times in my life, once with my parents which I don't remember, and another with my class in elementary school nearly fifty years ago. Almost every school in Ontario has taken class trips there and continues to do so to this day.

The draw at UCV is the various buildings and methods which early settlers used to conduct their everyday chores and business and lived their lives. There is a church and school, mansions and working man quarters, bakery, cheese making factory, tin smith, and blacksmith, lumber mill, flour mill, restaurants, broom makers, dressmakers and a complete farm with horses, pigs, cattle etc. as there would have been in the villages at that time. You can go for train rides, horse-drawn wagon rides, milk cows, view different trades in action. All which was part of everyday life in the eighteen hundreds.

As a child, fifty years ago, I could scarcely imagine all the manual labour it took to produce a loaf of bread, get lumber, shoe horses and live in that labour intensive, yet simple society. I can only imagine that to my grandson Jack, it must all seem incredible. I know on this visit I certainly could appreciate it much more than I did back when I visited as a child. One wonders how those people endured such hardship and toil, but that was what life was, hard work, good home grown food and a deep sense of community.

I couldn't help but reflect on the irony of it all. The gardens they grew and ate from, the unbleached flour, the homemade bread, is today what we call 'organic' and the way of life 'sustainable' by using the power of nature to run machines. ' Living off the land ' is today, to be envied. It has taken us nearly 200 years to discover that they had it right all along. I ask myself, would I go back in that time, if I could? What kind of person would I have been if I had lived in that era?

If you get nothing out of a trip to this village which time has forgotten, you surely get an appreciation for what you have now and a bit of nostalgia for the simpleness of what life used to be.

A Reason for Everything

Let me start by saying that throughout my life I have firmly believed that things happen for a reason. Sometimes we can clearly see the reason and other times it remains a mystery. When faced with a decision, we can rationalize and debate, discuss the pros and the cons, then arrive at a decision or course of action we feel is best. We have our own reasons, but then fate can show you that there was another reason in store for you that you hadn't even considered. I got the proof of that today.

We have an above ground swimming pool that must be taken down for the winter. It is a nice size, 15ft around and 48 inches deep. It has a metal frame with a plastic liner, what I would describe as just this side of flimsy. We bought this pool brand new last year to replace one that we had had for the past seven seasons. You can't dive in it, you can't really frolic, but you can get wet and I can swim around in that pool for hours on end. I love the water. Nothing delighted me more these last years than coming home from work and jumping in that pool while my husband bar-b-qued dinner. But I work no more. I live the good life of retirement. But in that good life, some things have to change. We decided to spend mid-May to mid-September (prime pool time) camping at different spots across Ontario. The only exception was that we would be home for four weeks in August for various engagements we had.

So, the dilema was whether or not to put up the pool. It's not that it's a terrible amount of work, but the cost of the water, the power to run it, and the liability of leaving the pool unattended for a long period made us think twice about putting it up. We had just returned from a wonderful 5 weeks in Florida where I swam every day in a heated pool (ours is not heated), and the weather was still cold here. I knew even if the pool was up I would not be able to swim in it before we returned in August. So we made a pact, my hubby and I, no pool and no bitching about it when we returned. Sounded like a good plan, and since I was not swim deprived, I figured, no problem, I can live without it for a few weeks. 

Fast forward to August. We returned from almost 3 months of the coolest, wettest camping we had ever experienced. Upon returning to our pool-less home, we were hit with a heat wave that we never had while camping. During the first three days of it, I was OK with no pool. I was busy unpacking, groceries, visiting, yada,yada, but today, the fourth day, when I was sweating up a storm in the backyard, I must admit, I wanted to re-live that decision. I wanted my pool. I lamented to my neighbour that while it doesn't make sense to put it up now, I sure wished it was up. So much for pacts and reasonable thinking, I just wanted to feel that silky salt water on my skin and swim around in circles till I was dizzy. But I squashed the urge, kept my mouth shut and went about my day. In the afternoon, the humidity of the last four days built up enough to cause a short but violent thunderstorm, which we watched from our garage at the front of the house. Meanwhile, in the backyard, whether by wind or lightening, one of the trees split apart and came crashing down right on the inner edge of the pad for the pool. We happened to look out our patio door and see this giant branch sitting where the pool would normally be. Had the pool been up, it would probably have been totalled.

I rest my case, there truly is a reason for everything.

Farewell to Grundy

Since our time at Grundy is nearing its end, I have composed a little ditty called "My Grundy Park Things", that is sung to the tune of " My Favorite Things". This sums up what I love and will miss the most about this place. God willing, I will return again next year and do it all again.  

Raindrops on rooftops

And bright morning sunrise

Ducks with their ducklings

And loons with their loud cries

Swans and their babies with white downy wings

These are a few of my favorite things

Hot days and hot nights

And carving on soapstone

Long swims to the island

The use of my cel phone

Bass, pike and pickerel creating fish rings

These are a few of my favorite things

Big snapping turtles

And bears  black as midnight

Jackrabbits and raccoons

And hummers in mid-flight

Great friends and great stories while the campfire sings

These are a few of my favorite things

When the bugs bite

When the bee stings

When I'm feeling sad

I simply remember my Grundy Park things

And then I don't feel so bad

Carving Out Some Fun

One of the activities here at Grundy Lake is soapstone carving and paddle making. Two or three times a year a couple (ironically with the last name Stonehouse) who travels the Ontario parks, makes a stop here so that campers can learn the art of soapstone carving and paddle making. Since I am not interested in making paddles, I always choose to buy a piece of rock and carve away till it resembles some sort of object. You can buy the stone in chunks, some have patterns drawn on them so you can follow it and shape your stone. It all sounds very easy. But it is labour intensive. First, you must cut out your  pattern in a vice with a hacksaw, then you must file down the soapstone for a long time before it resembles anything, shape it into a form, then fine tune it with smaller files until you get the desired result. After that, you have to then polish it to get the file marks out. You do this first with course sandpaper, then medium, then fine. If it is to your liking, you then submerse the rock in water and do a final sanding. This is where the magic begins, as your ordinary rock transforms into its beauty. Your grey stone can turn into a beautiful shade of jade green, black onyx, crystal quartz, it's amazing. After a final water sanding you then dry it off and apply oil, to bring out the beauty in it. If you are lucky enough to get through this all, you have a nice souvenir of your camping trip. Yesterday, I wasn't so lucky as I chose a piece of rock that continued to break off in big chunks when using the hacksaw, then when filing, after I actually got it to a shape, didn't the wing of my dragonfly snap off. It can be glued, however it is definitely not the same after that. After it broke twice, and it got reglued, I then finished it off as best I could. This one will not be making the gift list! Below are some sample of past projects, as you can see, I am no Michelangelo but had some fun just the same.

Time flies, Sad Goodbyes

They say all good things must come to end, and there is nothing more true than that statement once the Grundy gang starts to pull up and head for home. Monday our friends from Barrie left, today the Queen of Grundy departs back to B.C. (She will be returning, but only after we leave) and on Friday, ourselves and our friends from Sarnia will also be going home. That will leave only the couple from Sudbury who have another week or two. We are a varied group, aged from the fifties, sixties and seventies, with different backgrounds, different experiences, but when we get together at our our nightly campfires, we are all just a merry group of campers who share a love for this park and camping in general. We share laughter and stories and tall tales, get tips for great places and good routes to travel, of our families and experiences and our days camping. It's something I look forward to every evening, to take turns hosting the fire and getting together. I will miss the comraderie and the advice, the stories and tales as we each head back to our city lives for the winter months.

God willing, we will all be back to do it again next year. Here are some of us at the campfire:

A Trip to the Island

One of my favorite pastimes is to swim. Pools, lakes, oceans, rivers, it really doesn't matter to me. The temperature can be hot or cold, I like both extremes. There is something about swimming that makes me feel like a kid again. Here at Grundy there is an island directly across from the beach that is approx. 750 meters away. I am not sure about the official name of the island but it's the same one we take our boats to and jump off the rocks. It is surrounded by those gorgeous rocks that slide into the water to make it easy to get on and off of. It is lovely to look at from the shore, especially on a misty morning.

But what I love about the island is that it is my go to destination for a summer swim. Most nice days, my friend Brenda ( the Queen of Grundy) and I swim over to the island and back for a little exercise and gab session. It is amazing what we talk about and amazing we can even talk with the waves slapping against our faces. The lake has warm spots and cold spots, sometimes a strong current, and sometimes the water feels heavy, sometimes like silk. But it is always an adventure to 'go across' and one day we even did it twice. 

Today was our last swim across together for 2014 as we both soon move on to other destinations. I shall miss the crossing, and the companionship and will look forward to doing it all again next year.

Bringing the Mountain to Mohammed

One of the exciting things here at Grundy Lake is the fact that, if you are lucky, you can actually see black bears roaming around in the park in search of food or whatever bears go for. Two years ago, we had many sightings, at the beach, on the road, a mother and her cubs at the outhouse. All very interesting. Last year, my husband Mike had a face to face encounter with a young bear that came onto our site early one morning and didn't seem to want to leave after the requisite warnings, like screaming and clapping. Although I really don't want to get that up close and personal with Yogi, I will admit that I get excited when I enter the park and see the sign that says: Active bear in Campground.

 I think that the park may have just put that there for liability purposes, I always hope it is true. That being said, I have been here since June 12th and still not seen a bear. I have heard rumours of them in the campground, one of our neighbours told us that there was one sniffing at the back of our trailer, but I seem to have missed that altogether. 

I decided I have waited long enough and if the bears wouldn't come to Lulu, Lulu would go to the bears. On the way to the town of Britt, about 15 minutes from Grundy, there is a municipal dump where the locals bring the garbage and it is the hot spot for bear viewing at any time during the day or evening. The dump is a big pit about 15 feet deep and if you stand around the outer edge, (away from the path to the forest of course), you will see bears. There were two large black bears eating at the dump when I and a friend went to visit, the dump keeper or dump master, (not sure what to call him) estimated they were middle aged bears(how appropriate) and they were digging in to the garbage like there was no tomorrow. Of course it's a jackpot for them there and they are quite possessive of their stashes, if one got a little too close, the other made a grunting noise ( in other words,stay back) and it was quite interesting and a bit smelly to stand there and watch.

Of course, I wanted to immortalize the moment in film, so I took out my cel phone and started snapping away. The click of the camera got their attention, every time I clicked, the heads would go up, til finally, one of them let out a mighty growl and started to look at us meaty creatures as if we might be a better lunch. At that point, our curiosity was satisfied and we went about our business. Very fascinating, however,  I am still hoping to see one in the park before I leave.

One of Mother Natures little Pleasures

Here at Grundy, sometimes Mother Nature gives you something special to see that you haven't seen before. Yes, there are the baby swans and baby loons, and little ducklings, but yesterday I got to see a baby red-eyed vireo, a first for me. It had either fallen out of the nest or was just learning to fly, but it picked a spot almost on top of the fire pit, in one of our friends cedar trees, where it perched all day long. It seemed rooted to the spot, and every now and then it would commence to chirp over and over again until from out of the blue, the mama bird would come and feed it, then fly away again to God knows where. It was a heartwarming scene, however since campfire was supposed to be there that night, we ended up having change locales to have the fire elsewhere, in order not to have cooked vireo. 

10 Degrees of Separation

Well we finally had 6 whole days without rain until yesterday, when another storm rolled in and rained on our parade(actually our campfire). We all scrambled home from our neighbours with our lawn chairs and cushions over our heads as the skies opened up. Awaking this morning, I thought we might be in for another day of rain. To my surprise, the sky was only cloudy, however since the last three days have been a balmy 24 degrees first thing in the morning, imagine my surprise when I emerged from my cocoon of a trailer in my shorts and sleeveless shirt to a not so balmy 14 degrees. It's only 10 degrees right? It feels like many more, I mean 10 degrees doesn't seem to matter too much in the winter between minus 5 or minus 15, it's still cold, however the difference between 24 and balmy to 14 and windy feels like you have stepped into another dimension. Back to the hoody and long pants and socks. It's almost as bad as finally getting out of a parka and boots to shoes and sweater and then it snows again. Not quite as bad, but you get my drift. The summer that wasn't continues here at Grundy and the only upside is that even the mosquitos find it too cold to come out !!

A New Sport

There is something very different about the sport of standup paddle boarding. As compared to canoeing or kayaking where you are sitting down,  the fact you are standing up seems to give you more of an overview of things. It requires much more concentration, balance and motion, unlike a kayak or canoe, where you can just drift away and enjoy the scenery, then resume paddling at
your leisure. Not so with the paddle board. If you are not paddling or not paying attention, you can quickly find yourself at the bottom of the lake.
This has happened to me once, when riding my sisters very expensive board. I did not have on an optional  ankle thingy that attaches your board to your body so it can't get away on you. I did, of course have on a PFD which saved me from drowning. I don't know what's worse, the shock of the water or the shock of actually falling off. Suddenly, you are swimming for your life trying to catch a) the paddle and b) the paddle board, and trying to figure out how the heck are you going to get back on it. Once I caught up with my board, I slithered back on it, like a penguin or a seal on an iceberg, got to a kneeling position, then back up to a standing position. I was very grateful.
Another weird occurance is that unlike a boat, when you come back to shore you do not gently glide up on the beach, no, you come to a dead stop and if you are not expecting this (as I was not), you go flying off the front and send your boat backward back to sea where you must chase after it yet again.
All these events, I am sure, will correct themselves with practice, but in the meantime, I have still not decided if this is the sport for me. Not sure if my 58 year old, top heavy body lends itself kindly to this sport. Jury is still out on this one.

The Amazing Race-Grundy Lake

Today was Parks Day in Ontario. As part of the celebrations, Grundy Park held an Amazing Race, very similar to the TV show, with some adjustments. You had to complete 5 legs successfully, within the time frame, at the end, if you completed all legs successfully to be entered into a draw for a prize  ( a Grundy Lakes shirt) Mike and I decided to participate as we have often wondered what it would be like to do this race together. I found out this will NEVER happen as my husband is from Mars and I from Venus.
On the first leg, after unscrambling letters that spelled out the name of our first destination, we had to go the marker at the destination and perform the tasks to get our next clue. Sounds easy right? I told Mike to wait for me in the car while I found out what it was and come back. The checkpoint was at the end of the trail, to the right, opposite to the path for the trail, I ran to the checkpoint, and did the task, right then and there. I returned to find an empty truck with no Mike in sight. I realized he probably decided to follow me but  he actually took the trail which takes you on a 40 minute, strenuous hike for a fit person, which does not describe my Mike. A half hour later, Mike came down off the trail.Did I happen to mention this was a timed event? We only had about an hour left to complete the other 4 legs of the race. After a silent walk back to the car, and the usual blame game that husbands and wives often play, it was decided Mike would drive and I would complete the tasks, and pray we got finished on time.
The next task, back at the start, was to set a fire, using the log house and teepee method. Being a seasoned camper, task complete in record time. At this point the camp guy said I should quit as I would not finish on time. NEVER say that to me! Onto the next leg, where I had to put in order the steps necessary to save yourself if you see a bear. Quickly done!! Next leg, once you decifered the clue that took us to a lookout point, I had to tie three different  types of knots. Again, quickly done, and on to the last checkpoint. We had 45 minutes left at that point. I had to: correctly put on a life jacket, paddle a canoe, erect a tent, fold a sleeping bag into a small bag, erect a fire, and hoist a pack sack up a tree using rope, in order to make it safe from bears. This task took a lot longer, but once completed, we race to the finish line with 20 minutes to spare. When we got to the finish line, the young park guy who told me I could never finish on time, was waiting. He could not believe I had actually done it!!

Moral of the story: Do not ever tell me I can't do something. Here I am at the last task

(F)Art in the Park

As April and Jack missed the Grundy Park officially scheduled Art in the Park session, April had thought ahead to bring up some art sullies and canvases in order to have our own version. We had previously scouted out the perfect setting to perform this activity, a beautiful rocky ledge overlooking the lake, very inspirational. We waited for the day Maggie was here, and off we trotted after dinner to the lovely spot and commenced our masterpieces.
People going by on the paths were talking in whispers, thinking we were professional artists, so as not to disturb us. Some people fishing approached us and asked if we minded that they fish beside us, a short distance away. A real Tom Thompson moment, very distinguished and sophisticated.
That idyllic moment did not last. April, Maggie and Jack were sitting on one long rock,  with all the paint supplies and I had moved beside them on another. In order for me to get the paint for my portrait, I had to climb over an area that was full of old gnarled tree roots, and bend over to reach the paints behind Jack.
Let me preface this last part with the fact that I am of an age where the digestive system is not what it used to be. When I bent over to get the paints, my feet got trapped in the roots and as I tripped, I expelled some rather noisy body sounds(farts, to be exact). Well, the fishing people got an earful and the rest of them were cracking up laughing so hard that the more I laughed, the more I tooted. It was very embarrassing, but of course, hilarious. From this day forward, Art in the Park is now referred to as Fart in the Park, which I am sure I will be reminded of by Jackson et al.

Day Tripper

My sister Maggie lives about an hour and bit from where we are camping, so she decided to come up and visit while April and Jack were here to visit, and along with her she brought the sun, her standup paddle board, dinner and desert. A great day was had by all, a wonderful beach day, got to find out what it is like when you fall off a standup board in the middle of the lake ( you actually have to slide up on it like penguin and pull yourself back on). Got some swimming in, and a great dinner with fresh strawberries for desert. After dinner we had our on version of Art in the Park, a favorite activity here at Grundy (see next blog) and a campfire. A full and happy day, I fell into bed like a rock that night.

Family Fun

There is nothing like visitors from home to liven up camping. On July 6th, my daughter April and grandson Jack joined us here at Grundy for a visit. Out came the games, OKO, joker rummy, scrabble (or scramble as my sister likes to call it), skip-Bo, and Mexican Train. Never a dull moment.
We got to swim and kayak, and the thing Jacks loves more than anything is to fish.
As it is one of my passions also, I got to spend a lot of quality time with worms, but out of our attempts in both sunny and rainy weather, we only ended up with one small fish each.

The gift of Swan

Today is our 27th wedding anniversary. What better place to be than where we love it the most? At Grundy of course, enjoying our trailer. Since we are past the fancy celebration stage, we decided on a low key celebration and went out in our kayaks, hopefully to find the swans and their baby, who we haven't seen for awhile. Luckily we found them, and watching the mother and dad swan tend to the baby, was to me, the perfect celebration of what love is. As we passed by the spot where they had been eating and grooming, my husband Mike spotted one perfect downy feather and plucked it out of the water, and presented it to me. Nothing else could mean more to me, than this simple expression of his love.

Alien invasion??? Two mysteries solved

Since we have been here, we have continually heard what we thought was a drilling noise, at different intervals, it doesn't last long, but puzzled us because we had moved campsites, had different people camping near us, but still it continued. I thought perhaps some kind of bug so I am frantically looking up bugs that make drilling noise on the web, but the source of those is unknown. Being that the noise follows us everywhere, it had to be coming from our trailer, and we have finally deduced that it is our Kuerig coffee machine which intermittently heats up the water so that stays ready to brew. First mystery solved.

The second was much more complex and strange. When we sit out at night, high up in one of the trees, a mysterious light shines, it pulsates, sometimes red and green but mostly just stays like a surveillance light on. It is too high up to be a reflection of water against the trailer lights, and too low and bright to be a star or planet. Anyone who knows me will know that this has been driving me nuts since the day we moved over here. Today the investigation began in earnest, when sitting out with my morning coffee this object was glowing bright red when the sun shone and disappeared when cloudy. Mike finally got out his good camera with a telescopic lens and captured the alien critter on camera. Turns out it's probably someone's idea of a good joke, as it is some sort of beacon light encased in plastic, that is probably solar powered. It has been thrown up in the trees with a red translucent ribbon attached to it, which is what I saw this morning as the sun hit it. It lights up at night because it has had the day to charge up. Mystery number two solved. Now at night , instead of being scared of both bears and aliens, I can limit my fear to one source!!!

3 days of sun

Other than today, we were lucky enough to have three full days of hot weather and sun, of which I took full advantage of, except for Sunday when we had to go into Sudbury to re-stock our supplies for hopefully the last time before we go home. Got to swim over to island again with my friend Brenda, and got to have campfires with whole gang. Sadly,  some of the people in our Grundy gang have left and more are leaving soon, but our good friends from Sarnia are due to arrive on Sunday which will be fun.
Sadly, back to rain again today, I have taken count and of the 33 days we have been here, it was so cool for the first week that I never even got in the water, and then of the rest of the time , 10 of those days have rained and another 5 have had light showers or cloudy, the weather has been unseasonably cool. I am thanking God for this lovely trailer and the internet, which has kept me busy and dry. Here's hoping that the next 16 days will bring sun and heat.

Heat wave

July 1st long weekend, usually promised to be a summer celebration of heat and all thing Canadian. This year didn't disappoint as starting from Thursday before right up until actual July 1st, we had record heat and four days of sun, a real record, of course on the actual day July 1st,  it rained and as usually follows a heat wave, a cold front moves in, back to pants and socks, maybe that was our summer.

Best laid plans of mice and men

Wednesday - June 25, 2014 - Alex's graduation

Looking forward to a great day in Sturgeon Falls tomorrow visiting my sister and watching as our godson  Alex graduates from high school. As we go to take up the garbage, we discover our truck won't start. After some investigation, it is determined that : it's not the battery, it's not the starter, it's somewhere in between. Called several repair shops in Alban, French River, Sturgeon Falls, AND  Sudbury only to find out that due to the long weekend, getting it fixed before then is an impossible
feat . So the graduation is missed, our friends and neighbours are bringing us for groceries and after a few inquiries days later, we find out that by using a screwdriver and touching two wires together, we can actually get the thing going. Although we look like the Flintstones, and strangers think we wre stealing our own truck, Mikes new key is now a screwdriver, we will wait until we get home and take it to our regular mechanic.

Where oh where is summer?

As I sit and listen to the rain on the roof of the trailer , I begin to wonder where is the balmy nights and sunny days of summer. They seemed to have not arrived and we are fast approaching the end of June. Since I began camping in May, I can count the times I have swam or even worn shorts. I start the day in a hoody and pants and socks, and seem to end it the same way. It seems a crying shame to have had the furnace on more than the air conditioning!
Since this is my summer full time camping I have great expectations of sweating on the beach and complaining of the heat, of needed to medicate my sunburn and of running out of ice. However none of this has happened and I am beginning to wonder if it ever will. I am wanting to switch my hoody for a coverup and my drink of choice to go to ice tea instead of hot tea!!

NOTE TO MOTHER NATURE: Get with the program  !!

P.S. Am having a wonderful time despite the weather